1. I stand well back and watch Alec at play on the wooden pirate ship. He is scrambling around quite happily when a boy about half his height comes up and gives him a good shove. He looks surprised and puzzled and then the boy's mother comes down like the Assyrian and sweeps her son away in a torrent of angry Spanish. Minutes later a boy closer to Alec's size starts to lecture me about how TV villain The Numbertaker has stolen all his tools. "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" his parents chorus -- but I'm well used to this sort of thing with Alec and a new story always makes me smile.
2. Everyone wants to go upstairs on the bus, but I have to stay downstairs with the pushchair. I have a book on my phone, though, and it is lovely to have 15 minutes to read in peace.
3. Alec is having a colossal tantrum. I am so glad Nick is there to take Bettany so I can focus on Alec.
Northernmost point, out of the rain and blue fire.
1. An alarm goes off in Nick's pocket to let us know that it's the moment of the winter solstice. 2. The rain is falling in steady c...
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1. An enormous fat bumble bee at work. She is so bulky that she can knock dead blossoms out of the way as she gets right in to the new jasmi...
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1. The shortest night and the longest day. I was up at Wellington Rocks with Anna, Paul and Jason. We couldn't see the sun through the m...
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1. I promised myself I wouldn't moan and grumble about it -- but I do. And as if by magic, a very kind friend produces the required blaz...